LAWS OF MARYLAND.— 1818.

689

SEC. 7. And be it enacted, That the said commissioners, or a
majority of them, shall value and ascertain the damages that
may be sustained by each and every person through whose
lands the said road may pass, in case the application shall be
for opening or straightening a road, by opening or straightening
the same, taking into consideration the advantages and disad-
vantages of the same, if any ; and the said commissioners shall
make such ascertainment of damages a part of their return to
the court, and the same, with the rest of the proceedings, shall
be subject to the ratification, rejection or alteration, of the court,
in such manner as in their judgment shall be just.

Damages
to be
ascertained.

SEC. 8. And be it enacted , That the county court, to whom
the return as aforesaid shall be made, shall determine whether
the damages by them adjudged as aforesaid, shall be paid by the
persons petitioning for the said road, or levied on the county, or
may direct the said damages to be paid by the petitioners and
the county in such proportion as the court may deem just.
SEC. 9. And be it enacted, That whenever the county court
shall adjudge and determihe that any road shall be opened or
shut up, it shall be the duty of the clerk to transmit to the levy
court of the county a copy, under seal, of the judgment of the
county court including the assessment of damages, and also a
copy of the plot returned.
SEC. 10. And be it enacted, That in all cases of proceedings

Court to
determiner
whether
damages
shall be
paid by
petitioners
or levied on
county.

When road
is deter-
mined to be
opened or
shut op
clerk to
transmit a
copy of
judgment
to levy
court.

under this act, the damages adjudged by the court shall be paid
to the respective parties, or their guardians, before the said road
shall be opened; and in case of the death of any of the parties
concerned, after the valuation made by the commissioners, or a
majority of them, as aforesaid, the damages finally adjudged to
him, her or them, by the court, shall be paid to his, her, or their

Damages to
be paid be-
fore road is
opened,

executor or administrator ; Provided always, that the signing of
any petition presented to the county court under this act, shall
not make any petitioner liable for the payment of the damages
adjudged by the court, or any part thereof, but the court may in
their discretion give judgment against the petitioners for the
costs incurred by any person defending against the claim of the
petitioners, where the case shall be decided in favour of such
defendant.

Proviso.

SEC. 11. And be it enacted. That in all cases where the
county court shall have adjudged that a road be opened of
straightened, it shall be the duty of the levy court, at the levy
next after the judgment of the county court shall be given, to
levy on the assessable property of the county a sum of money
sufficient to open or straighten the said road, as the case may
be, and also sufficient to pay the damages aforesaid, in case the
87

Where road
is adjudged
to be open-
ed, levy au-
thorized for
that
purpose.